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What was the first job you had in the sports medicine field? Did it benefit your career and where you are now?

I am looking into a career in sports medicine but don't know where to start.

medicine sports athletics sports-medicine athletic-trainer
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Rachael’s Answer

Hi Cassidy, my first job in sports medicine was working as a graduate assistant Athletic Trainer at a NCAA Division III institution. I was able to work for two years as an athletic training while getting my masters degree in post professional athletic training. This had a very positive impact on my career as I was able to gain work experience while earning my degree, so when I was applying for full time jobs as an AT I already had two years of experience under my belt. Currently I am working as an athletic trainer at the University of Chicago, which is an NCAA Division III institution. My goal was to work in collegiate athletics, so my first job set me up to achieve my goal and work in the setting I wanted to.

You mentioned you're interested in a sports medicine career but you're not sure where to start. There are a few avenues for working in sports medicine. You can be an athletic trainer, physical therapist, orthopedic surgeon, nurse practitioner, physician assistant/extender, and more. Take the time to research some of these professions to see which may be right for you. If there is an athletic trainer employed at your school you can talk to them to learn more about the sports medicine field, the profession of AT, and what all is needed to be successful in school and your career moving forward. I hope this helps!
Thank you comment icon Thank you so much for your feedback! This helped me very much in deciding what I want to do in my future. I appreciate you for responding! Thank you! Cassidy
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Ryan’s Answer

Rachael's answer is on point! Sports Medicine is a significant umbrella term encompassing all the health professions Rachael discussed. I started my career as a secondary school AT and entered the physician practice setting. The great thing about athletics training is we can work in many different settings, from the "traditional" ones like secondary, collegiate, or professional athletics to the less traditional ones like working with dance teams and drum lines or even with NASA. Pursuing a career in Athletics Training without knowing your "dream" job is okay. While in college, I spoke with mentors and interned in various settings to find out what I liked most. When in college, I thought I wanted to work in professional baseball until I was an intern for a summer and realized it was not the lifestyle I wanted in life later in life.

Ryan recommends the following next steps:

https://www.nata.org/about/athletic-training/job-settings
https://www.nata.org/professional-interests/emerging-settings
https://ateachmoment.com/athletic-trainer/careers/
Thank you comment icon Thank you for the helpful information! Cassidy
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Chris’s Answer

Rachael pretty much summed it up. Only thing I would add is the following link to help narrow your focus and search.

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/sports-medicine-careers
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Oumaima’s Answer

Fiesta job was in hospital as a optometrist visonary... vision testing ocular testing ...
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